Medical history is made as cancer cure is injected into toddler's eye

TODDLER Eliza Deakin is making medical history as she battles eye ­cancer.

Eliza Deakin is the youngest child in the UK to have the treatment (not pictured)[GETTY]

The 18-month-old is the youngest child in the UK to have a lifesaving new treatment using tumour-busting injections.

Eye cancer is usually tackled with chemotherapy and radiotherapy but Eliza’s only chance of beating aggressive retinoblastoma and saving her sight is by injecting drugs directly into the back of her eye.

Her mother Lucy, a nurse, who lives in Bradford with husband Jamie, said: “Radiotherapy carries the risk of further cancer developing or the removal of her eye.

“We want to save her life and her sight if we can and this is one of our last hopes. We just have to pray it is a success.”

Eliza was diagnosed at just six weeks old after her mother noticed an abnormality in her left eye.

Mrs Deakin, who also has daughters Megan, seven, and Freya, five, said: “I noticed there was a white flash in her eye when I looked at her at certain angles and the girls noticed she only looked to one direction. She didn’t seem to be able to look in the other.

We want to save her life and her sight if we can and this is one of our last hopes. We just have to pray it is a success

Lucy Deakin

“They drew pictures for her and held them up to try to make her look to both sides but she didn’t seem to be able to.” The family’s GP initially thought Eliza was suffering from a cataract but tests at Bradford Royal Infirmary revealed tumours in both eyes.

Eliza’s diagnosis was confirmed by experts at the Royal London Hospital. Two weeks later she began five months of chemotherapy treatment in Leeds.

As soon as the course finished, however, the tumours began growing again. Mrs Deakin said: “The cancer is more aggressive in her left eye. There are at least four big tumours in there and others are growing too so they are treating her left eye first.” The artery in Eliza’s left eye will be injected behind the iris with a short 0.2mm needle once a week for six weeks.